Eczema Treatment in London

If eczema is affecting your life, then the Harley Street Dermatology Clinic is here to help. Our consultant dermatologists can offer you expert treatment with a very good chance of dramatically improving your eczema. Please look below at the images of eczema before and after treatment. We hope you will agree that the results can be quite breathtaking.

Do not let eczema dominate your life, get in touch and let us take care of your skin.

What is it?

Eczema and dermatitis mean the same thing; inflammation of the skin characterised by redness, swelling, itching and excoriation (scratch marks) in the acute form. In the chronic (persistent) form, regular rubbing of the skin through itching and scratching, leads to thickening or ‘lichenification’, scaling and post-inflammatory darkening of the skin. There are many different causes for eczema:

Atopic eczema; common in children and related to other allergic conditions such as asthmas and hay fever.Allergic contact dermatitis: an eczema caused by an allergic reaction to something coming in to contact with the skin (such as fragrance or hair dye). This can be identified by means of a patch test.Irritant contact eczema: an eczema caused by a chemical irritating the skin (such as soap or disinfectants)Lichen simplex chronicus: a thickened itchy area caused by repeated rubbing and scratchingNodular prurigo: similar to lichen simplex, multiple small itchy areas of thickened inflamed skinAsteototic eczema: dermatitis due to dry, cracked skin that occurs with ageDrug-induced eczema: eczema that might resemble any of the above types, but that is caused by medications.Pompholyx/Dishydrotic eczema: itchy tiny blisters (or vesicles) occurring under the skin on hands and feet.

What does it look like?

Acute eczema is red with swelling of the skin, sometimes to the point of tiny blisters or vesicles appearing. It is often symmetrically distributed.

Chronic eczema that has been rubbed repeatedly might be thickened and darkened. See images.

How might it affect me?

The key feature of eczema is that it is itchy! This can be a minor distraction or a major feature that interferes with your life and prevent sleeping, working and concentration. In children it can prevent sleep which causes unhappiness at home. The condition can cause redness and thickening of the skin which might affect ones appearance and confidence.

What are the treatments?

The treatment of eczema can be divided into three basic strategies depending on severity, namely creams, phototherapy (ultraviolet/sunlight) or systemic medication (oral or injectable drugs).

Creams include emollients, soap substitutes, steroids or tacrolimus.

Phototherapy involves precise doses of ultraviolet light being delivered by a medical UV-machine.

Systemic medications include tablets such as prednisolone, azathioprine, methotrexate and ciclosporin. These powerful drugs are reserved for severe or life-limiting Eczema.

Our eczema dermatologists at the Harley Street Dermatology Clinic can offer patients specialist treatment for all types of eczema and dermatitis to help control their disease.

Remember, although eczema is incurable, it can be well controlled
with medication – please see our before and after pictures.
There is no need to let eczema rule your life.